The Mark Steel Solution
Encyclopedia
The Mark Steel Solution was initially broadcast on BBC
Radio 5
for a series, before three series were broadcast on BBC Radio 4
. The show's original slogan was "Give me thirty minutes and I’ll convince you of anything!"
Delivered by Mark Steel
, each scripted lecture presents persuasive, yet witty, arguments for a seemingly bizarre solution to a contemporary social problem by highlighting the flaws in the present system.
Many of the arguments are illustrated by miniature sketches, featuring Mark Steel, Pete Sinclair, Maria McErlane
, and Kim Wall
. It was produced by Phil Clark, and was written by Mark Steel and Pete Sinclair.
Series 2, 1994 (BBC Radio 4)
Series 3, 1995 (BBC Radio 4)
Series 4, August and September 1996 (BBC Radio 4)
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Radio 5
BBC Radio 5 (former)
BBC Radio 5 was a BBC radio network that carried sport, children's and educational programmes.It was transmitted via analogue radio on 693 and 909 kHz, and lasted for three years and eight months. The success of BBC Radio 4's coverage of the Gulf War, on a service known as Scud FM,...
for a series, before three series were broadcast on BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
. The show's original slogan was "Give me thirty minutes and I’ll convince you of anything!"
Delivered by Mark Steel
Mark Steel
Mark Steel is a British socialist columnist, author and comedian. He was a member of the Socialist Workers Party from his late teens until 2007.-Early life:...
, each scripted lecture presents persuasive, yet witty, arguments for a seemingly bizarre solution to a contemporary social problem by highlighting the flaws in the present system.
Many of the arguments are illustrated by miniature sketches, featuring Mark Steel, Pete Sinclair, Maria McErlane
Maria McErlane
Maria McErlane is a British actress and presenter specialising in comedy. She has appeared in several TV series, including The Fast Show, Gimme, Gimme, Gimme, Thin Ice and Happiness, and "straight" roles in The Bill and Holby City but is probably best known as the narrator for Antoine de Caunes...
, and Kim Wall
Kim Wall
Kim Wall is an American Actress. She is probably best known for starring in the 1988 sequel Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland.-Career:...
. It was produced by Phil Clark, and was written by Mark Steel and Pete Sinclair.
Episode List (Incomplete)
Series 1, 1992 (BBC Radio 5)- S01 E01 - The Royal FamilyBritish Royal FamilyThe British Royal Family is the group of close relatives of the monarch of the United Kingdom. The term is also commonly applied to the same group of people as the relations of the monarch in her or his role as sovereign of any of the other Commonwealth realms, thus sometimes at variance with...
- "The Royal Family should be chosen by weekly lottery" (9 October 1992) - S01 E02 - The FamilyFamilyIn human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
- "Nobody should be allowed to live in the same family for more than a year" (16 October 1992) - S01 E03 - JudgeJudgeA judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
s - "Criminals should be recruited as high courts judges" (23 October 1992) - S01 E04 - SchoolSchoolA school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
- "Nobody should go to school until they're 35" (30 October 1992) - S01 E05 - EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
- "Anyone born in England should be deported" (6 November 1992) - S01 E06 - The EconomyPolitical economyPolitical economy originally was the term for studying production, buying, and selling, and their relations with law, custom, and government, as well as with the distribution of national income and wealth, including through the budget process. Political economy originated in moral philosophy...
- "All government economic policy should be decided by sport" (13 November 1992)
Series 2, 1994 (BBC Radio 4)
- S02 E01 - UnemploymentUnemploymentUnemployment , as defined by the International Labour Organization, occurs when people are without jobs and they have actively sought work within the past four weeks...
- "Having a job should be illegal" (15 July 1994) - S02 E02 - TransportTransportTransport or transportation is the movement of people, cattle, animals and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, rail, road, water, cable, pipeline, and space. The field can be divided into infrastructure, vehicles, and operations...
- "Transport should only be paid for by people who don't use it" (22 July 1994) - S02 E03 - HousingHouseA house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...
- "Everyone in Britain should be rehoused at random" (29 July 1994) - S02 E04 - The Royal FamilyBritish Royal FamilyThe British Royal Family is the group of close relatives of the monarch of the United Kingdom. The term is also commonly applied to the same group of people as the relations of the monarch in her or his role as sovereign of any of the other Commonwealth realms, thus sometimes at variance with...
- "The Royal Family should be chosen by weekly lottery" (paraphrasing S01 E01) (presumably 5 August 1994)
Series 3, 1995 (BBC Radio 4)
- S03 E01 - SexualityHuman sexualityHuman sexuality is the awareness of gender differences, and the capacity to have erotic experiences and responses. Human sexuality can also be described as the way someone is sexually attracted to another person whether it is to opposite sexes , to the same sex , to either sexes , or not being...
- "Everyone should have to be gay for two years" - S03 E02 - CharityCharitable organizationA charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...
- "Anybody who gives to charity should be jailed" - S03 E03 - CrimeCrimeCrime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
- "Criminals should decide their own punishment" (Uses some sketches from S01 E03) - S03 E04 - ImmigrationImmigrationImmigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
- "Anyone born in England should be deported" (paraphrasing S01 E05)
Series 4, August and September 1996 (BBC Radio 4)
- S04 E01 - ReligionReligionReligion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
- "People should have to change their religion every Monday" - S04 E02 - MediaMass mediaMass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
- "Anyone in charge of the media should be sacked after thirty minutes" - S04 E03 - EducationEducationEducation in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
- "Nobody should go to school until they are 36" (paraphrasing S01 E04) - S04 E04 - LifeLifeLife is a characteristic that distinguishes objects that have signaling and self-sustaining processes from those that do not, either because such functions have ceased , or else because they lack such functions and are classified as inanimate...
- "Pessimists should be persecuted by law"